America, Islam & the 'Ground Zero Mosque'

Date:  9 September 2010

Time: 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Location: The Finkel Lecture Theatre, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Road, ANU

Website: http://cais.anu.edu.au/node/79

Phone: 02 6125 4982

Email: cais@anu.edu.au

Jack Miles, Senior Fellow for Religious Affairs with the Pacific Council on International Policy and Distinguished Professor of English and Religious Studies, University of California, Irvine

Plans to build an Islamic centre near the site of the 9/11 bombing have become a flashpoint for debate over the nature of America and its relations with Islam. Eminent American religion scholar and journalist Jack Miles argues that the conservative critics of the “ground zero mosque” are Osama Bin Laden’s best friends. The indispensable premise of the master narrative of international takfiri extremism, he argues, has been that the United States is at war with Islam. If American conservatives prevail over the Mosque, the world's Ummah (Muslim community) will conclude that Americans really do blame them for the terrorist actions of a Muslim few. Osama bin Laden would win a major tactical victory without firing a shot. The goodwill generated by Barack Obama’s speeches in Ankara and Cairo would be undermined. American efforts to improve relations with the Islamic world would be set back for years. The global stakes over a small piece of ground in Manhattan could not be higher.

Jack Miles is Distinguished Professor of English and Religious Studies with the University of California at Irvine and Senior Fellow for Religious Affairs with the Pacific Council on International Policy. His work on religion, politics, and culture has appeared in numerous national publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times.

His first book, God: A Biography, won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1996 and has been translated into sixteen languages. His second book, Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2002. Professor Miles was named a MacArthur Fellow for the period 2003–07. He is currently also general editor of the forthcoming Norton Anthology of World Religions.